Incontrollable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Impossible to hold back, check, or bring under control, especially when it comes to strong emotions or impulses
2. Beyond the power of anyone to restrain or manage, such as a rage or urge that cannot be curbed
3. Describing something that refuses to be steered, restrained, or kept in check by any means

Etymology: "Incontrollable" is simply "in-" attached to "controllable," which makes it a negated form of a word that already means "able to be managed or restrained." The prefix "in-" comes from Latin, where it meant "not" and was used in the same way to build negatives such as "inactive" and "incapable." Because "controllable" was itself formed from "control" and the suffix "-able," the word stacks three layers of English word-building on top of one another: a root meaning to check or regulate, an ending meaning capable of being done, and a prefix reversing the whole. The result is a word that means impossible to restrain. Most English speakers would recognise it as a fairly plain construction, and its usefulness lies in describing something that cannot be held in check, whether a person's temper, a fire, or a crowd.

Synonyms: uncontrollable

Antonyms: controllable